E46 BMW Delivery Day

In the shop for pre-delivery inspection (PDI). I got the impression that my technican doesn't normally do PDI (except perhaps on the first few deliveries of new models) but he graciously cleared his schedule for me.

When the car arrives from BMW, most of its systems are turned off. Here we are bringing the car to life. The yellow box is a wireless interface that allows the BMW diagnostic computer to talk to the car's systems.

The cars are shipped with blocks to prevent the suspension from compressing too much when they're tied down during the shipping process. This pic is of the right rear wheel before the blocks were removed.

I just had to get some pictures of the underside of the car to study, since I don't expect to see this car on the lift anytime soon. My hope is to limit driving to 5-10K a year, and at that rate it will be 18-24 months before the first inspection.

Note the grease that's sprayed on to the underside of the car to prevent rust during shipping. Man, I wish I had a lift. Makes everything SO much easier to work on.

Just a nice perspective shot. And yes, that crazy guy messing with my baby is my technician -- the behind the scenes star of this little BMW reality website.

Good shot of the right rear. Note the differential cooling fins. My technician told me they started to do that on the M cars and it's found its way down to the performance-oriented non-M cars like my ZHP Coupe.

There's nothing quite as beautiful as a brand-spanking new BMW waiting for its new owner (ME!)

My baby safe and sound at home. I'm so happy with my color choices. Mystic Blue is one of the few colors shared with the M car, and seeing it on the M at madrussian.net is what sealed the deal.